It is well known to use polyester textile applicators to disperse cleaning and sanitizing and/or disinfecting solutions across surfaces to be treated. Such applicators may be formed from PET or other polyester polymer and have woven, knit, or non-woven constructions which act to carry a volume of the cleaning and sanitizing and/or disinfecting solution for subsequent discharge across the surface to be cleaned. Past applicators have also incorporated various textured surfaces to facilitate cleaning.
Many sanitizing and/or disinfecting solutions utilize an aqueous solution with an active sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent based on quaternary ammonium compounds (QUATS or QAC's) such as quaternary ammonium chloride or bromide surfactants and the like. Other solutions use chlorine, peracids and/or peroxides. QUATS are generally cationic in character and readily bind to most textile applicators which typically utilize anionic surfactant surface treatments. Such sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents may also bind to textile applicators free of anionic surfactant surface treatments with such binding typically being facilitated in the presence of an enhanced number of physical binding sites. Chlorine (hypochlorite) and peroxide based agents are oxidizers and are easily inactivated by substrates with reactive organic compositions such as cotton, cellulosic pulp or traditional microfiber structures.
Structurally, QUATS contain four carbon atoms, linked directly to one nitrogen atom through covalent bonds and four alkyl groups. The portion attached to the nitrogen atom may be any anion, but is usually chloride or bromide to form the salt. The nitrogen atom with the attached alkyl groups forms the positively charged cation portion. Depending on the nature of the R groups, the anion and the number of quaternary nitrogen atoms present, the compound may be classified as monoalkyltrimethyl, monoalkyldimethylbenzyl, heteroaromatic, polysubstituted quaternary, bis-quaternary, or polymeric quaternary ammonium compounds.
The binding and/or inactivation of QUAT, chlorine-based, peracetic and peroxygen sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents by textile applicators is a well known phenomenon and is generally understood to be undesirable. Specifically, binding the sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents to the applicators prevents their subsequent release for dispersion and surface treatment. Thus, the solution which is dispersed to the surface being treated may have much lower concentration of active sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent than anticipated. If concentrations of the active sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent are not maintained at effective levels, the reduction of microbial contaminants to safe levels may not be achieved on the surface being treated. As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, for individual products, recommended concentrations for active sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents to achieve safe levels of microbial contaminant reduction may be set from time to time by controlling governmental agencies.
In the past, several approaches have been utilized to promote release of effective concentrations of sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents from textile applicators. A common approach has been to substantially saturate the applicator with sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent by immersing the applicator in a bucket containing an aqueous solution of the sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent until binding or oxidation is substantially completed with all available sites on the applicator. Once binding or oxidation is completed, the solution container is then emptied and an additional volume of the sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent is added to the solution in the bucket to bring the concentration of the sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent in the bucket fluid back up to the desired effective level. Thus, the fluid which is ultimately expelled from the applicator will have an adequate concentration of sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent. While this approach is effective, it is labor intensive and requires training. It also has the deficiency of requiring an enhanced volume of the sanitizing and/or disinfecting agent for use in reviving the concentration in the bucket.
Another approach has been to spray the disinfecting solution directly onto the surface being cleaned this approach has the advantage of avoiding absorption by the applicator. However, it may be difficult to achieve coverage of the underside of various structures. Also, spraying may result in users breathing in a portion of the applied disinfectant.
Another approach has been to treat the textile applicator with a cationic surfactant or other surface modification which does not attract and/or inactivate the cationic QUAT, chlorine, peracetic or peroxygen-based sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents. By way of example only, and not limitation, such an approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,794,352 to Svendsen; U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,776 to Svendsen; and U.S. Reissue Pat. RE40,495 to Svendsen, the teaching of all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. While this approach may be effective, it requires the use of a surface treatment which may add cost and/or change the desired surface character of the applicator. Moreover, as best understood, there is an absence of a singular surface treatment which prevents attraction of QUATS while also avoiding activation of chlorine and other oxidizers. Thus, different products are marketed for different uses.
In the prior approaches described, the goal has been to reduce the number of active binding sites by either pre-loading those sites or by changing the ionic character at those sites such that they are inactive. Thus, it has been considered generally desirable to minimize the number of physical binding sites at the textile surface since a larger number of physical binding sites may provide a greater propensity for interaction and possible binding. In light of this desire to minimize the number of physical binding sites, the use of base textiles incorporating so called “microfibers” in combination with QUAT, chlorine-based or peracetic peroxygen sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents has been avoided. In this regard, it has generally been believed that such microfiber textiles provide an excessive number of binding sites and will therefore bind or inactivate available sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents to an unsatisfactory degree.
In instances where pre-treated microfiber textiles have been used, it has generally been considered desirable to use so called conjugated “split” microfibers formed by a technique in which a large fiber is formed and then split into a plurality of smaller fibers with angled perimeters. Such angled perimeters have been believed to aid in scrubbing ultra fine particles to physically remove harmful bacteria which may grow on surfaces in hospitals, restaurants and similar environments.
In light of the above deficiencies in the known art there is a continuing need for a textile applicator which may incorporate the enhanced cleaning benefit of microfibers without binding or inactivating sanitizing and/or disinfecting agents, including but not limited to, QUATs, chlorine-based and other oxidizing agents and the like and without requiring a cationic or other surface modifying surfactant treatment.